Chain Stores And D&D

[buddhafrog]

I get the feeling that they are going to be testing the waters with the new red box. I was kind of scratching my head about why they were releasing this product when they already had a starter set out there, but I am thinking this might be the reason. Stick with my conjecture for a moment:

Dad taking his kids through "Toys R Us" spots the red box D&D starter set... who then recalls their youth when they played it... after all, it looks a LOT like the old red box set... perhaps that gets the dad thinking he should pick it up and teach it to his kids.

Ok, I am probably way out there, and it's probably wishful thinking but I would be really pleased to see D&D sold in such places as it would be a big driver to more folks wanting to play D&D.

I am pretty comfortable speaking for the parents among us that if this was me, and I was not playing D&D anymore, seeing the Red Box would likely result in a sale. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent at the toy store with my son as he searched for a toy to buy. Many Saturdays we would spend a couple hours and Toys'R'Us as he would test out the toy possibilities and I would help him compare prices and pros/cons.

I just started playing with my 9 y/o son after about 20 years without playing. I'm sure I would've started sooner if I had seen an intro packaged set at a larger store. I hope they do this - I think it would be good for the hobby.

(by the way, playing with my son is incredibly fun and I'm so glad I'm back into the hobby)

 

[karlindel]

When I went in last week, my local Borders had a good selection of D&D books (i.e. at least one of most of the hardcovers, a dozen or so PHBs, and a few of the softcover adventures) as well as a dozen or so miniatures packs. They also had the Pathfinder Core Book and Bestiary, Warhammer Dark Heresy and Rogue Trader RPGs, a few Star Wars RPG books, and a some others. I also bought the Supernatural RPG from them a few months back. My local B&N has a similar selection.

My local Books a Million has one bookcase devoted to RPGs, but it sometimes has an odd mix (i.e. sometimes has supplements but not the core book for an RPG). It has a fair number of Shadowrun RPG books, so someone who works there must be a fan.

 

[Stormonu]

I got the same Darksun stuff, many of my D&D Gazetteers, the 2e Mystara stuff (including Red Steel which I actually like) from Kaybee. For a while, they were the best place for me to find gaming stuff.

I also got a lot of marked-down Weapons & Warriors games. It was sad when they stopped carrying everyone else's unsold goods.

I forgot about that - I picked up some Spelljammer stuff back in the 90's at KayBees - along with the Weapons & Warrior game.

 

[Filcher]

Skallgrim deserves a raise. We need more like him to keep b&m sales alive.

On topic, I was a ToysRUs kid. I'm sure my memory has only a little basis in reality, but I recall a seemingly endless rack of TSR books ... it was like there was no end to the number of modules, supplements and rule books. Every week I would take my allowance down to the store and buy new something.

Thank god for second edition PHB blue line art, or I might never have broken out of D&D addiction.

 

[Wombat]

I work at a Borders bookstore and we carry D&D, a limited line of NWoD, the core Pathfinder books, and a couple of Warhammer 40,000 books, as well as a limited array of minis and game tiles. And I can tell you our sales are along the lines of pathetic. Not only do very few people buy these items, almost no one browses these items -- in other words, they take up shelf space but generate almost no income for the store. There is one specific fellow who comes in every 2-3 months to pick up his fix of one (1) D&D book at a time, there are still comments from some adults about "that's that satanic game", and there are a sprinkling of questions about price-matching with Amazon, which we do not do. There have been at least three rumblings in the Borders chain about ceasing to carry the items in-store (but not on-line) at all.

I am not sure that Toys R Us and Target would fare that much better in terms of sales.

 

[Scribe Ineti]

I work at a Borders bookstore and we carry D&D, a limited line of NWoD, the core Pathfinder books, and a couple of Warhammer 40,000 books, as well as a limited array of minis and game tiles. And I can tell you our sales are along the lines of pathetic. Not only do very few people buy these items, almost no one browses these items -- in other words, they take up shelf space but generate almost no income for the store. There is one specific fellow who comes in every 2-3 months to pick up his fix of one (1) D&D book at a time, there are still comments from some adults about "that's that satanic game", and there are a sprinkling of questions about price-matching with Amazon, which we do not do. There have been at least three rumblings in the Borders chain about ceasing to carry the items in-store (but not on-line) at all.

Of course, Borders is hurting all around anyway. D&D books not selling is just part of their woes.

Borders doesn't price-match, though I've found that their 30% - 40% off coupons for their members + their Borders bucks program can come close to Amazon prices if you time it right. I got a few books last year at 40% off plus another 5.00 off due to Borders bucks.

As for other retailers, all of my local Books-a-Million carry pretty much the full line of 4e books, tiles, and miniatures (the 4e game sets, not the miniatures game). BAM also has about the best selection of non-WOTC RPG books as well, but that may be a regional thing. Northern VA may be an embarrassment of riches as far as chain bookstores selling RPG stuff.

 

[Wombat]

Of course, Borders is hurting all around anyway. D&D books not selling is just part of their woes.

Weeeellll... I should expand on this a bit.

Borders hurting or not, the rpg sales are beside that point. I should, however, say that our Philosophy section and our Mathematics section get much more foot-traffic in general than our RPG section. And, having talked to my counterparts at B&N in the next town over, the same is pretty much true for them as well.

From what I can see (limited, but listening openly), the two local game stores get a fair, but declining, amount of rpg traffic, as most people are buying on-line, due to discounts.

I also remember when Toys R Us sold D&D basic sets; a buddy of mine worked there during that time and said that there was very little interest, looky-louing, or even notice. I have a feeling (just a gut reaction) that it wouldn't really be worth it for the larger chains to stock much in the way of rpgs, especially coupled with the information MerricB posted this morning.